Blogging Success Tips

Blogging Success Tips-The Positive Side of Blogging
A Pink Paper (Cousin of the White Paper)
by Irene Becker, Just Coach It

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Well, this post is too long to be a blog post, and it is not a white paper. I call it a Pink Paper because it is all about the Pink-The Positive Side of Bloggingdeveloping reach and resonance within your marketplace and the community at large.


Blogging & business
in the New World-the Social World-
Lessons Learned.

Developing a Community of Purpose™ is critical to social media and business success, and will only become more so! It is your ability to reach out to influencers, connectors, colleagues, employees, constituents and prospects that will take you forward in terms of traffic to your site, brand exposure, lead generation. 

 

 

 

Smell the ROSES

You need people, organizations, constituents who smell YOUR roses-LIVE bodies who resonate with your values, your vision, your mission. Human beings who value what YOU do, what it can do for them and how it adds something positive to their lives and the world in general.  Your Community of Purpose™ must be defined and grown by those who lead forward, and want to use challenges & strengths, problems and opportunities to create prosperity by creating value for others.

YES, your blog and your business NEED a personal connection, a human persona.
Demographical information that used to be relevant is passé.  The new demographics are values, interests-emotionally relevant details about your target markets.  Building your human connection, developing YOUR Community of Purpose™ will help you…

  • Develop an emotional connection
  • Build trust and credibility
  • Carve out a small but important niche, a key area of expertise that differentiates you from other companies, services or brands.
  • Develop improved SEO and brand presence
  • Connect with collaborators who can be strong strategic alliances in terms of business development and coming together for key projects or initiatives where your combined talents provide extra benefits for your clients.

 

Blog & Communication KSF! (Key success factor questions YOU need to answer)

  • Who is YOUR audience?  What do THEY value? What type of headlines and language do they respond to? How do they see themselves?  How must you position yourself in terms of headlines, subject matter and language so that they embrace your content?
  • What are YOU focused on?  Know what you are trying to achieve with your blog. What are YOUR goals?  Using a blog to for SEO is not enough. Pick three goals for your blog.  Get clear on them; review them as you are blogging as agility is critical.  You cannot hit a target you cannot see.
  • Measure, regig, measure-yes KPI’s count!  Measure blog results and remember, you need to balance focus/objectives with flexibility and adaptation to your target markets.  Get in the know and find out about the great social media tools and analytics that are out there, many of which have free initial platforms you can try on for size and fit.
  • Name IT.  Brainstorm around a name that contains keywords and expresses your USP.  Choose a name that is creative and related to your company and what YOU do best.  If YOU are the brand, perhaps your Blog is your name.
  • Focus on What YOU do best and what will create value for your target audience. Decide on 4-5 categories that you will blog about.  Remember to write blogs that are short (generation of ADD readers) have bold headlines and eye-catching pictures, graphics or charts and that do not overtly sell, but rather give information and consistently position you as the expert in your fields.
  • Get visual and use great bold headlines; statistics tell us that only 20% maximum of people will actually read your blog; the other 80% will resonate with the visual image or take a mental note/snapshot of the title and headlines.  When I started blogging, I did not realize the critical importance of visual images (flaw as I am an auditory learner) and bold headlines that engage the reader.  You need images and headlines/key points that grab the reader.
  • Get External: Develop Strategic Alliances with other Bloggers-Extend your reach.  Develop a Community of Purpose™ with other experts in the field so that you both benefit from each other’s reach and resonance in the marketplace; as well as benefiting from each other’s ideas, creative input, different areas of strength and expertise.  The new formula for success is collaborative.  Embrace it or lose.
  • Keep your eye on the SEO prize-keywords and phrases.  Use the keywords from your site and also use Google adwords to find additional keywords.  Try to be consistent in using certain keywords in every blog post as well as key phrases that allow the reader to understand what you do that is unique and of value.
  • Have a Blogging Schedule and use different social media channels and times to post your blog.  Start with one blog post a week, and make sure that you have set aside the time to write, edit and have someone else review your posting for errors etc.  Try to post on the same day/days.  Consistency is important to your audience.
  • Ask for help and help others in your Community of Purpose™! Don’t just blog; help others who are doing great work in your sector to get exposure for their work.  Build your Community of Purpose; when you notice an excellent blog post shout it out on your best social media channel.  If you have written something that you feel really creates value, ask those in your Community of Purpose™ to share it with their readership.
  • Create Involvement! Find new ways to get people involved, or simply ask them in your post to comment on your blog.  Examples of great things to offer in your blog are:
    •Contests and Free Giveaways/Downloads
    •Case Studies/Client Success Stories
    •White Papers
    •Top Ten Lists and Ideas (Ending the blog asking readers for comments and ideas)
    •Videos
    •Infographics are very hot now because they contain info and visual appeal  Valuable information positioned in as few words as possible with bold headlines and visual images are a dynamite combination.
  • Don’t reinvent the wheel, but do not copy cat. Become a learnaholic!  Read the top blogs in your sector, see what is hot, how they use language, what they talk about, how they drive traffic and think of new ways that you can do the same with your voice, your persona! And, remember when you look at great blogs, or even the work of your competitors with an open mind you can find incredible creative nuggets, ways that you can change and re-gig something or come up with an entirely new idea that is a great fit for YOU.
  • Give up YOUR guru. While it is critical to find experts who can help you develop and promote your business, developing a mind-set that X company or individual cannot be wrong, make a mistake is dangerous.  The best organization, the best professional service provider cannot be right all the time.  And, while we are all so deluged with so much to do in so little time, taking quality time to reflect upon what someone has suggested is critical.  Relying on a guru provider, mentor or coach to be right 100% of the time is dangerous!  Hire the best people to help.  DO NOT try to do everything yourself or rely on.
  • Learn whom YOU can really trust and remember the reality of FREE Advise and PAID advice! Learning whom you can trust is critical, and while social media is a virtual platform if you keep your eyes open you will quickly learn who talks the great talk and who walks it.  Keep your eyes open.  Developing a true Community of Purpose™ means collaborating with people who share your values, your sense of integrity and who will thrive when you help them and they help you.  It is about finding those rare but powerful souls who can want to work on ME to WE solutions, and in this respect are truly leadership driven in a positive way.  And, remember free advice is fine, but if you need coaching, consulting advice that is extensive set a budget and find the right provider, or find a way to barter services.  Sometimes the best thing you can do is pay for the best advice, without the guru halo distracting you.  The biggest name can be the best or not.  Find the help YOU need both in terms of free advice and paid/bartered advice. It is impossible to evolve and grow as an army of one.
  • Speak the Language of the Heart. Know the heart of your target audiences.  No matter who sophisticated or learned they are or otherwise; it is the language you use, language that resonates with their heart and the value you share through your blog posts that will build or break relationships.

 

Build YOUR Community of Purpose™ NOW, watch your blog grow, watch your reach and resonance in the market place grow...and, of equal import watch the quality of your relationships and the footprint of your true purpose and mission strengthen.
©Irene Becker, 2012. All Rights Reserved

Did you like this Pink Paper? Were the blogging tips helpful?  What has been YOUR blogging experience?  Write and share your comments-kick off your Community of Purpose™


DO YOU want to integrate these concepts?  Develop a Community of Purpose?  Expand reach, resonance and results.  Improve the written/verbal communication that is critical to leading forward?
Contact me.  I am here to help!

 

Helping smart people and organizations communicate and lead forward
smarter, faster and happier is what I do best . Executive coaching, consulting, keynotes and articles with a 3Q Edge™ for greater reach, resonance and results

Irene Becker | Just Coach It-The 3Q Edge™ | QBlog
Career, Communication and Leadership Programs & Services
Toronto & Virtually Everywhere | (1) 416-671-4726 416-671-4726 Skype: beckerirene

10 replies
  1. Edward Colozzi
    Edward Colozzi says:

    A powerful pink paper post with a plethora of positives!
    Irene, you have provided lots of thought here. For me, I have summarized your eloquent words into a phrase….the importance of Connecting and Collaborating, with Credibility, and Creating Communities of Purpose.

    With so many sites to browse these days, and many more thousands each month, paying attention to these “success factors” is a step in the right direction.

    Thanks for talking the time to write this post. Keep up your excellent work. EdC

    Reply
    • Irene Becker
      Irene Becker says:

      Edward Colozzi! Thank YOU so much. Gosh, it is absolutely wonderful to get this kind of feedback. I am so glad that you are enjoying my posts, and find the content of value.

      Thank you so much for your continued support of my work and my writing.

      Warmest regards, and thanks! Irene

      Reply
  2. Karlene Petitt
    Karlene Petitt says:

    There is far too much “great” information in here for one read. I had to read it twice. One thing that resonated with me was asking for help. We all need it.

    And consistency is essential. I also like the flexibility of bloggers who enable to follow by email. This helps me know when a new post is up. But I do learn what days people post, if it’s once a week. So sites won’t allow follow by email.

    The best thing about blogging is it enables your writing skills to grow. It’s fun to see what posts attract people more than others. It gives you the ability to touch the heartbeat of your community. We all need one.

    Thanks for another great post.

    Reply
    • Irene Becker
      Irene Becker says:

      Thank you so much, Karlene!

      I think that it is impossible to really get all the info in one read! However, I hope that it is a good guideline. My greatest strength is communication, and in my capacity as an Executive Coach I have worked on verbal, written and virtual (digital) communication with executives as well as writers of fiction, non-fiction including prize winning screenwriters and also a Professor of Social Media! Love the written word, and after blogging myself and developing a social footprint I wanted to share what I have learned both from working with writers, studying writing and social media topics and writing myself!

      Some people have asked why I called my post a Pink Paper. Well it is not rigid enough, or detailed enough for a White Paper–HOWEVER, I think that information provided is really valuable to writers and to those who want to build a social media footprint and voice!

      Everyone needs help to move forward faster. And, I think that writers in particular benefit from a muse! And, in the case of writing for the web, and trying to build a social media footprint, develop brand exposure-enhance reach and resonance, I truly believe that it is essential to have someone who can help you position your words, your business, your topic for success!

      And, thank YOU so much for your appreciation of my posts. I work, I write and I share on social media channels in service. Always so wonderful to hear that I have succeeded in sharing valuable information.

      I put my heart and soul into everything I do, and if there is one consistent comment from clients it is that they got much more than they ever expected. It is SO wonderful to hear the same type of feedback about my article. Again, Thank YOU so much!

      Very best, Irene

      Reply
  3. Mark
    Mark says:

    Irene:

    Thank you for your insightful introduction to the positive side of blogging.

    “Should we start a blog?” is one of the most common questions I receive from new clients. You not only help to answer this question but do so in an extremely clear and meaningful way.

    Great post.

    Mark
    TOGO Media

    Reply
    • Irene Becker
      Irene Becker says:

      Mark: Gosh, it is wonderful to get kudos from a social media expert. Thank YOU so much. I am so glad that the post was relevant, as that is the critical word!

      Again, thank you so much!

      Best, Irene

      Reply
  4. Felix Nater
    Felix Nater says:

    Irene, you are my emotional intelligence giant. I typically read all your posts and chose not to comment here simply because I eventually Tweet your magnificence which is your essence. Without touching Karlene & Ed’s well made points, suffice to say that your emotional intelligence shines through. Enthusiastic about your stuff all the time, I was most intrigued by your take on the topic of Blogging. You were exquisite in tying in as many business and social media relevance as possible. You hit every area of interest including the need to be real and honest with yourself. I think Ed referred to it as credibility.

    Don’t spare the Pink Papers!

    Reply
    • Irene Becker
      Irene Becker says:

      Dear Felix: Thank you so much! Emotional Intelligence is such a critical area; and it is one that is best enhanced in coaching! I thank YOU so much for your incredible tweets and support of my work, but please know HOW MUCH comments on the blog are also appreciated!

      So glad that you liked my Pink Paper on Blogging Success Tips and that the information therein was of value! That is always my aim. Stay tuned because there are more PINK PAPERS to come-positive, real, hands on tips and tools!

      Wishing you a simply outstanding weekend. Thank you again so much for your support of my work and my writing. Awesome!

      Best, Irene

      Reply
  5. Philip Verghese 'Ariel'
    Philip Verghese 'Ariel' says:

    Hi Irene,
    I am here via Mike’s post on 31 Tips….
    Good to be here., A good number of valuable tips and suggestions for the bloggers.
    The pics and the title gives an impression of different articles, to avoid this you can reduce the size of the pics,
    Thanks for sharing these valuable tips for your fellow writers/bloggers
    Keep Going
    Keep inform
    Best Regards
    Phil

    Reply
    • Irene Becker
      Irene Becker says:

      Hi Phil: Thanks so much for your very kind note. I do my best to not only write posts that are of value to the reader, but to share great information of others. I agree that Mike’s post on 31 Tips is excellent.

      Wishing you a terrific week!

      Best regards back, Irene

      Reply

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